Obama dines with Kenyan family after arriving in father's homeland

Friday, July 24, 2015 - 00:37

U.S. President Barack Obama attends a private dinner with family members after arriving in Kenya. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

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ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
U.S. President Barack Obama dined with his step grandmother, his sister and other extended family members after arriving in Kenya for his first presidential visit to his father's homeland on Friday.
Obama's plane, Air Force One, landed in the evening in the Kenyan capital, where he will co-host a conference on boosting entrepreneurs in Africa before travelling on to Ethiopia.
After being greeted by President Uhuru Kenyatta and other top Kenyan officials, Obama was whisked through the capital.
Hours before Obama's arrival, police blocked major roads and emptied streets of traffic in the usually congested capital as part of a huge security operation.
In the darkness, excited Kenyans lined parts of the route to his hotel, cheering as Obama's motorcade passed by.
Once at his hotel, the president sat down with the woman he calls "Granny," also called "Mama Sarah," who helped raise his now deceased father as a child.
Obama's half sister Auma Obama and a few dozen other extended family members related were also present.
Wearing a suit and tie, he chatted amiably with the large family seated at long tables at a restaurant inside the hotel where he is staying.
Obama's family connection to Kenya has cast a trip that is otherwise likely to focus on trade and counter-terrorism issues in a personal light. He is not expected to travel to the village where his father is buried.

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